For a bit of leg-stretching and some outdoor life when you´ve had your fill of  museums and art, these lovely gardens are the perfect solution.
The enormous Giardino di Boboli (Picture 1 and 2) (open throughout year 8.15am, to 7.30pm Jun-Aug, to 6.30pm Mar-May and Sep, to 5.30pm Oct, to 4.30pm Nov-Feb, closed 1st and last Mon each month) which belongs to the palace dates back to the 16th century. The design was created by Il Tribolo. It is very much a typical Tuscan Renaissance garden . You can  explore the cypress alley, a walled garden, sit by the beautiful lake and fountain, accompanied by approximtely 170 statues, see the interestog Grotta del Buontalenti (Picture 3) by Buontalenti himself (available for visitors: 11am, 1 ,3 ,4 ,5pm) and head for the old amphitheatre where the statues placed in niches or in the orangery date back to the 18th century . There used to be a maze which was got rid of in the 19th century. If you stand by the rose garden on the upper south edge of the Boboli gardens you have a simply stunning view of the countryside around Florence. The rose garden is also where the Porcelain Museum sits. This houses a collection composed of Sèvres, Vincennes, Meissen and Wedgwood pieces that belonged to the noble families living in thepalace.

Access to the Giardino Bardini is through Via de‘Bardi 1r and Costa San Giorgio 2 (www.bardinipeyron.it; open: 8.15am to sunset).
It owes its name to Stefano Bardini, the collector of art  who purchased and refurbished the villa.  its garden, dating from the Middle Ages also follows the traditional formal Tuscan style including man-made grottos, citrus groves, statues, fountains, loggias, an amphitheatre, baroque steps and different levels. If you are lucky enough to be in Florence when the flowers are in bloom, this garden is a true paradise of aroma and colour.

The Museo Bardini is located in the villa itself (tel. 055 263 85 99; www.bardinipeyron.it; open 10am-6pm Wed-Sun Apr-Sep, 10am-4pm Wed-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat and Sun rest of the year). It exhibits a collection of Roberto Capucci and has temporary exhibitions. The Giardino Bardini is connected to the Boboli gardens and its exit is on Via de ‘ Bardi.


On Via de’Bardi, the first area to the east of the Ponte Vecchio, the effects of WWII were terrible. The necessary reconstruction has unfortunately achieved a result which is not to everyone´s liking. The quiet stretch of Via de’ Bardi after the Piazza di Santa Maria Soprarno is lined with houses which were once property of the Bardi family. By the beginning of the 15th century the family wealth was on the wane and these were sold off. Via de’Bardi finishes in Piazza de’Mozzi flanked by some magnificent properties. Among them are the Palazzo de’Mozzi (nº 2), Gregory X’s home while he was trying to make a deal between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. You can follow Via dei Renai and walk through Piazza Nicola Demidoff, named after the Russian philanthropist who resided in the neighbourhood. Where Via de’Renai finishes is where  Palazzo Serristori sits, dating back to the 16th century and where Joseph Bonaparte lived until his death. To the right is Via San Niccolò and heading west along this street is the Porta San Niccolò,  the only vestiges of the old walls around Florence. If you want to know more about these walls head for Chiesa di San Niccolò and go through Porta San Miniato, to get a picture of how the walls used to be. There is still a piece of the walls to the east and to the west reaching the Forte di Belvedere whose commission was given by Ferdinand I to Bernardo Buontalenti in the 1500s. The fort was useful for protecting Florence from the exterior as well as from interior revolts and attacks.